Little action on the field, yet, and will Major League Baseball twiddle its thumbs and fritter away the season?
Meanwhile, high school basketball and college football make news off the field.
• The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will make a return to Champaign-Urbana for boys basketball State tournament games in March 2021. It is welcome news, however, two questions continually come to the surface: Will the arena be close to being filled, similar to the 1970s when the 16,000-seat arena turned away fans seeking tickets for many games? Then the reply by the IHSA likely would be putting the four classes together in a three-day weekend prior to the start of the Division I men’s college basketball tournaments will bring the fans to the University of Illinois. It certainly would be nice and it may happen, however, it is a new day.
That’s what the IHSA leaders want, following the stale recent tournaments in Peoria.
• The College Football Hall of Fame released its ballot Monday this week with some familiar names, especially to fans of the Chicago Bears. The 2021 ballot, which will be open for voting by eligible members, included 78 players and seven coaches in Division I and many in the lower divisions.
Among the players who are remembered by Bears’ fans: Willie Gault, Dan Hampton, and Ron Rivera. All played on the 1985 Bears who prevailed in the 1986 Super Bowl. Gault was a wide receiver from the University of Tennessee and was an exceptional punt and kickoff return man; Hampton, Arkansas defensive tackle, was named the defunct Southwest Conference outstanding player in 1978; Rivera, linebacker for the University of California was the Pac-10 co-defensive player of the year. All three were all-America selections. On the ballot are Bob Golic, linebacker, and Aaron Taylor, tackle, both Notre Dame.